Erotesis
by The Decemberist
Summary: People love asking questions Rukia doesn't have answers to/Ichigo thinks people need to learn to put two and two together. (two-shot)
1. Chapter 1

I really wanted this to be under 500 words but it wasn't. Oh well.

* * *

 **Q &A**

She began encountering this problem when she was in the human world. It was from his classmates actually, first from a girl whose name never stuck but her demanding inquiries always would. She asks at lunch, ever so bluntly, "So are you and Ichigo like, _dating?_ "

At the time Rukia was so shocked by the question she almost spit out her juice. _My god, did these humans have any social graces?_ And it takes her a few minutes to compose her smile and answer and cheerfully deny any type of romance between herself and her still slightly unwilling roommate. The fact that it happens again other times makes her start to examine her own steadfast answer, and by the time she left she had developed an effective way to both dodge the question and change the subject so she no longer had to ponder the strange relationship she shared with a boy who she thought was just a dear friend.

It happens again when they are separated for a short period of time. She and Renji are having tea and catching up when he offhandedly asks "So what _really_ went on all that time you were living in that kid's room?"

He has this ridiculous smirk on his face that says more than his words did and this time it only takes her a minute to decide her answer should be both a punch and kick, and she leaves without another word while her friend lies moaning on the ground.

Even people she doesn't even _know_ ask her about Ichigo. Like the green haired little arrancar, when she curled herself up on Ichigo's shoulder, cracked mask and big eyes peering over at her while demanding to know the nature of their relationship in front of all their close friends. Her uncomfortable stuttering said it all. Or maybe his father is worse, not even asking just declaring her his third daughter and letting the unspoken inquiry linger in the air, heavy and awkward and always managing to make them both a brilliant shade of red.

Because at this point, the truth is she has _no freaking clue_ how to define the complex relationship she shares with Ichigo Kurosaki. How do you define someone who knows you better than anyone else in the world but also drives you insane while you trust him with every fibre of your being? She sure as hell doesn't have an answer and she's getting tired of everyone else asking her for one.

And a few years later, when all the battles have been fought and the dust has cleared, and they are no longer a sullen teenage boy and a lonely shinigami girl, he finally gets up the courage to define it for her ( _FinemidgitI'minlovewithyouokaydamnit)_ it brings on a whole new set of questions. Because of course she wants to know _since when_ and _why didn't you tell me sooner_ and the not-question-but-still-important _yes you fool of course I love you too._

When it comes to him there's always going to be more questions than answers.

The only question she doesn't need any time to answer is asked by the source of her problems himself, many years down the line. Her answer is simple and concise; no other words were needed besides the emphatic and somewhat tear-filled (he always reminds her smugly)

 _yes_.


	2. Chapter 2

Every time I go to write some angsty ichiruki I get so stumped because it's obvious they're going to end up together at this point. Their biggest obstacle was living in different worlds and now, as far I know, that's probably going to be eliminated. I see no reason why they wouldn't live happily ever after. However, this makes angst writing pretty hard. Because there is nothing to angst about. Uhg, _happiness_.

anyway here's what I guess you could call the continuation to q&a.

* * *

Done Deal

He honestly wasn't sure why everyone was so surprised.

When he told his father he got one of those weird looks on his face that automatically made him clench his hand in a fist, ready to throw a punch if needed to subdue the crazy old man. However, after a few seconds of blubbering, Isshin got one of those rare serious expressions on his face, told him not to fuck anything up and realize exactly what he was committing to and the honor that went along with it. Otherwise, he was incredibly happy for him and oh _shit_ here comes that crazy again-

Karin and Yuzu were much easier. Both sisters congratulated him, Yuzu more tearful and Karin more apathetic but that was to be expected. What he didn't expect was Karin coming to him privately later and telling him to explain to Yuzu that he wasn't growing apart from them and living a secret life away from them. He was stunned for a moment before agreeing to talk to her the next morning. (Had she really not seen it coming either?)

His friends were simple enough. He casually mentioned it at their next visit to Soul Society, to thankfully minimal surprise from everyone. But he later learned that was only because his dad told Tatsuki, who was so surprised she told Orihime, who obviously told Ishida who then mentioned it to Chad on the way over.

"So you're telling me none of you saw this coming? All of you were surprised to hear that I proposed to Rukia?" All of them nodded their heads in unison, Orihime's eyes even widening when he said the word 'propose' out loud.

He really didn't understand how they didn't all see this coming from a mile away. To him it was...it was so _obvious_. They had lived together for months for crying out loud, spending almost every waking moment together in a tension filled race to keep each other alive without her powers and learning how to work together as a team. She kicked his ass back to normal when he was in a funk after getting his ass kicked by the arrancars; she even directly disobeyed her superiors when she followed him to Hueco Mundo. And after he lost his powers he was in such a deep depression he didn't realize how miserable his life was without her until she stabbed him with that damn sword; seeing her face after all that time made it possible for him to finally _breathe_ again. After that the answer was so clear he wondered why it took him so long to figure it out; one way or another, he _needed_ Rukia in his life. And while that whole mess with the Quincies certainly slowed things down, it couldn't stop the inevitable. It was only a matter of time before they had confessed to each other and neither of them wanted to waste any time with dating and pretending like they both weren't completely sure where their relationship was headed.

Him and Rukia, they were a done deal.

He just figured everyone else had seen the same thing too.


End file.
